Good Monday morning! How is everyone this morning? I am exhausted, and I don’t really know why. I got plenty of sleep last night. I could back to sleep right now, but I don’t think work would like that very much.

I got up this morning and headed to the gym for Week 2 of Best Body Bootcamp. After resting up over the weekend, I was ready to kick Week 2 into high gear (once I got to the gym, getting out of bed was rough. lol)

Today’s workout was back to Upper Body. Last Monday, I used weights that I felt were a little too heavy, resulting in not-so-great form. Today, I lowered the weights so I could focus on better form and better form is what I got. I could tell my muscles were working harder even with the lower weights. By the time I reached the last super set, I thought my arms were going to fall off. haha.

This morning a HIIT workout was also on the agenda. I opted for the treadmill today, starting with a minute warm-up at a speed of 4.0. Once I hit the HIIT portion, I went for 60 seconds at a speed of 6.6, folllowed by a recovery speed of 5.0 for 60 seconds. I repeated this to total 10 minutes and ended with a 5 minute cool down.

That wrapped up this morning’s workout. Tomorrow is Lower Body and my final day of C25K, along with a July goals recap!

What kind of workout did you fit in this morning or was it a rest weekend like me with some Olympics watching?

Thursday was Workout C (Total Body) and 20 minutes of cardio. I upped my cardio time so I could fit in a C25K workout. I set a OR for pace, time and distance. It was fabulous! If there weren’t so many people at the gym, I might have actually jumped up and down with excitement.

Friday finished off Week 1 with a final Intervals and Core Workout, that I struggled with. It was the same as Wednesday but after such great workouts the rest of the week, my body was tired. lol.

I learned a lot this first week:

exercises I thought were simple turned out to be some of the most challenging

I am capable of so much more than I ever gave myself credit for

On the opposite end, I do still have a long way to go

The variety of exercises I was shown this week has shown me how to work each part of the body separately or together.

It’s Friday! Woo hoo!!!! I just have to make it a few more hours and I’m free!

This morning was another day of Core & Intervals. After underestimating myself Wednesday with my interval workout and followed Julie’s Intervals (thanks Julie!). I only made one modification to the workout. Since my running pace is not as fast as Julie’s, I changed my running speed to 6. This workout was much better than Wednesday and I was a hot mess when it was over.

Next was “crunch” time….pun intended 😉 Even though today’s core workout was a repeat of Wednesday, it kicked my butt more. I struggled with my 3rd set of most of it. Just check out these times.

None of them close to what I had on Wednesday. Guess that means, I’ve got some work to do.

Tomorrow’s plan is cardio of choice. Want to know what I’ll be doing? My last day of the c25K program!!!! I am SO excited! Check back tomorrow to see how my last run goes and a recap of the whole program.

I will be honest, I did NOT want to get up this morning. I stayed up later than I planned reading 50 Shades of Darker. This picture below just about sums up what it’s like reading anytime during when the kids are still awake. haha!

After two hits of the snooze button, I dragged myself out of bed so I could head to the gym. Once I was there, I was feeling pretty good.

I started my workout with some cardio. Tina’s plan for today was 20 min of steady cardio. One of my July goals was to finish the C25K program so I opted for a longer cardio session. I felt much better during this run than the past few runs and even set a PR in pace, distance and time! This is one happy lady right here!

+

And today was my second to last day! Only one more day of the C25K program to go!

Next, it was onto a total body workout. I definitely found a few new favorites!

With a workout done for the day, it was time to head off to work, where I now site and count down the minutes til 5 and I can go home,

Have you ever woken up not ready to workout? How many times did you hit the snooze? What was it that motivated you to get up and workout?

Finally! My first What I Ate Wednesday post! What I Ate Wednesday is a link-up hosted by Jenn from Peas and Crayons. It’s a great way to see what other bloggers are eating (you always know you can use a few ideas) and it’s a fabulous way to hold yourself accountable and can make you see what you’re really eating and maybe what you could work. For me it’s veggies….BIG TIME!

I have been wanting to do one for a while but remembering to take pictures at each meal isn’t easy. I’m awesome at taking pictures of my breakfast but the rest of picture taking goes downhill after that.

Last Wednesday, I successfully took a picture of each meal. Proud moment in my day. (yup, it’s the little things. haha) So let’s get started.

Lunch consisted of turkey, ham and cheese (Laughing Cow Swiss) wrap. Notice the lack of veggies? We were out of fresh veggies and in desperate need or a grocery store trip. On the side were apple slices and Justin’s Hazelnut Almond Butter

Dinner

Dinner was definitely on the starchy side. Before leaving for work, I marinated some chicken for dinner. Once I got home, TJ fired up the grill and I got to work on cutting up a sweet potato for some sweet potato wedges. TJ was really in the mood for biscuits too, so I popped a few in the oven. Not what I would have chosen but I did make sweet potato wedges, which he isn’t a fan of, so I let him have this one.

And since this month the focus is on Fitness as well, let’s jump into that as well.

This week kicked off with Best Body Bootcamp from Tina. Man, oh man, does it kick butt! Monday began with a Lower Body Workout and a 20 minute HIIT workout. It was my first HIIT workout and I LOVED it!

Monday consisted of upper body and a 20 minute HIIT cardio workout! My arms are still a bit sore from that workout but nothing compared to yesterday. For the full recap of Day 1, check it out here.

Tuesday workout was lower body and 20 min of steady cardio. The wall sits killed me, but in a fabulous way. Check out all my thoughts here.

And that brings us to today! On the schedule today was Intervals & Core, and other than Monday’s HIIT workout, this was my first Interval workout. Because I’ve been having a time breathing, I decided I’d make his Interval workout a walk but at some inclines. Apparently, I have underestimated my speed. I kept my recovery speeds at a casual speed of 3.0 with an incline of 4.0 and my increase was at 4.0 (4.5 towards the end) with an incline of 8.0. The speeds were a bit slow. I’m definitely going to up things for Friday’s workout.

With the intervals done it was time to move on to the Core Workout. Included in the core workout today, was a new move for me: the V-Sits. They look easy but they were harder than I thought. I managed to get to the 30 second mark but it was NOT easy. A familiar move was a plank. Tina asked for everyone to do hold the plank for 60 seconds. If you’ve seen my plank-a-day from previous posts, you’ll notice that most are around 30 seconds but occasionally there will be a 45 second plank in there (I guess I’m feeling strong on those days. lol) These planks killed! I know I will get better over time and eventually 60 seconds will be nothing but I have to start somewhere. At the end of each circuit, I added a bridge since a plank a day and bridge a day or part of my goals. I did 3 rounds of the workout before calling it done.

Notice those 60 second planks? Yeah buddy! 3 of them in the bag! I was pretty proud of those!

And that folks, wraps up my first edition of WIAW!

A huge shout out goes out to Jenn from Peas and Crayons for hosting such a fabulous link-up! And if you want to participate, click here for more information.

I kicked off the day with some cardio. Just like Saturday, my chest was tightening up and I was having a hard time breathing so I ended up with a half run/half walk. I really gotta figure out what is up.

After cardio it was time for my plank and bridge for the day!

And last, the lower body strength workout! It started with wall squats. Apparently I underestimated this exercise. I figured this would be a breeze. I was wrong. Something I love about bootcamp already, learning new exercises to incorporate into my workouts for later.

Before leaving the gym, I hopped on the scale to see I had lost .8 pounds! My total is now 17.4 GONE baby! Just a few more pounds to go before I reach the halfway point!

This morning breakfast was a repeat of yesterday. I have been seriously craving these lately!

Lunch was some Raspberry Chobani topped with some Cinnamon Life. DELICIOUS!

And dinner tonight? I’m not really sure. I asked TJ to take out some chicken so we he could throw it on the grill tonight, but he doesn’t always take out what I ask, so I guess it’ll be a surprise when I get home.

Have you tried wall squats? How long did you last? I did not do so hot. LOL!

This morning began Best Body Bootcamp and boy did it begin with a bang! The first two weeks are focusing on upper, lower and total body supersets. And this morning, it was all about the upper body: what I am weakest at and definitely need the most improvement on. For the supersets, I used 10 lb weights but I struggled and think I should have gone with 8 lbs instead. While my form wasn’t awful, I don’t know if it was perfect and I think I could have had better form and more control with a slightly lower weight. Lesson learned for the next workout.

Today’s workout also consisted of a 20 minute HIIT workout. It was my first HIIT workout and I can honestly say I LOVED it. I will definitely have to incorporate more of these into my workouts more often.

Last, I completed my bridge and plank for the day!

Breakfast, this morning consisted of homemade eggs sandwich which was splendid! And of course there was coffee, which didn’t get a photo shoot this morning, seeing as I was on my way to work and it was gone before I arrived

Ours was great! We didn’t really venture anywhere but and that is fine with me sometimes.

Saturday, I started my weekend with a run. I’m not sure what it was but I was having some breathing issues. I had to slow to walk several times to catch my breath. It’s not the first time it’s happened and I really hate that feeling I get. but I was determined to get my run in and power through the best I could. While my time wasn’t where I wanted it to be, I did finish and I’m glad I did.

My plank and bridge Saturday were better than Friday and I aim to get better. And one day, my plank will match my bridge time. haha

The rest of my Saturday consisted of mom and wife duties: cleaning. The past week, I have been thoroughly going through each room of the house. I give myself a few days per room to go through EVERYTHING. I’m evaluating each item and trying to decide if it’s something to keep, sell, or get rid of. Jordyn’s room has been done and most of her stuff were items that we’re going to keep for Baby #3 in a few years but there were a few things that I have decided to sell or get rid of. Things I knew I would never use again.

Once I finished her room, it was time to go through our bedroom. I have gotten rid of half of my clothes and will continue to get rid of more as I continue to lose weight.

I am now on Dylan’s room. Boy, does that kids have a ton of crap! We haven’t finished his room and his room will take lots of time. I knew he had a lot of stuff but I guess I never realized exactly how much he had until we went through each piece. And Dylan is doing pretty well with getting rid of his stuff. We’ll see it goes, when we get to his toy box though. We’re getting rid of that toy box so we won’t have room for all the little things that he never plays with.

Sunday, I took a break from Dylan’s jungle of toys to catch up on laundry, just play and hang out with the kids, Skype with family and finish my current book so I can start Fifty Shades Darker. I also set my goals for Bootcamp and reviewed the first two weeks of workouts to prep myself for today! Stay tuned later for how Day 1 went!

How was your weekend? Did you do any major house cleaning or projects or did you just enjouy the weekend?

This morning, I woke up to head to the gym to go for a run on the treadmill. I got to the gym pumped and started my run but I was feeling funky. I knee was hurting (nothing excruitiating, but it was definitely feeling wierd). I’m not that tends to have major injuries or really gets hurt often and I knew if I wanted to stay uninjured continuing was a bad idea.

I ended my run but I knew I still wanted to get some more cardio in, so I opted for the bike. Even the bike was hurting my knee but I completed 2 miles on the bike in 13 min giving myself a total of 23 minutes for a workout. Not my proudest workout but sometimes you gotta know when it’s not a good idea to push yourself.

After my workout I found myself with little time to get ready for work and out the door. I’m not really sure where the time went but it was gone and I needed to go. There was enough time to grab lunch but not to eat breakfast, so I left for work and made a pretty usual stop at Starbucks to grab a coffee and a Turkey Bacon sandwich. They’re good, but I like my homemade egg sandwich better.